By Ian McConnell

AN Edinburgh seafood restaurant which is closed to sit-in diners during the coronavirus crisis lockdown but has launched a home-delivery service has secured a £50,000 loan to cover business-critical costs.

Royal Mile restaurant Ondine, led by chef-proprietor Roy Brett and wife Karin, has secured the loan from Barclays under the UK Government bounce back loan scheme.

Stuart Brown, of Barclays, said: “Ondine was one of the thousands of restaurants across the UK that had to effectively shut their doors overnight because of the lockdown.” He flagged the “ongoing revenue stream” secured by the home-delivery move.

READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Anyone seeing ‘addiction’ to furlough needs to take a look at reality of coronavirus crisis

The loan provides working capital to support the new delivery service and cover costs such as supply chain expenses and wages for non-furloughed staff, Barclays noted.

The bank added that it had provided a six-month capital repayment holiday on existing finance and a three-month "rental holiday" on the restaurant’s Barclaycard payment terminals.

Barclays noted Ondine, an 80-cover dining room opened in 2009, had been named Best Restaurant in Scotland for the second year running at the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards in 2019.

READ MORE: Ian McConnell: Brexit circus tensions build as UK and EU reach critical point

Karin Brett, co-owner of Ondine, said: “We have been supported exceptionally well by Barclays. Our relationship manager Richie Paul has been helping us every step of the way to get through these difficult times and get Ondine the financial help needed to keep the business in a positive position as we work through the Covid-19 lockdown.”

Mr Brown said: "By moving quickly to get an at-home service in place they have managed to secure an ongoing revenue stream and this bounce back loan will provide additional essential financial support to meet business critical costs. Karin Brett engaged with us very early in the process and has worked closely with her business manager as the restaurant has transitioned through lockdown.”